No Women Running for President in 2012

Michele Bachmann hugs her mother Jean LaFave after announcing during a news conference she is ending her campaign.
(Scott Olson/Getty)

Michele Bachmann announced on Wednesday that she is disbanding her campaign. Now that she is no longer pursuing the Republican nomination, there are no other female candidates running for president. However, this absence is consistent with overall political trends: while women consist of 51 percent of the population, they hold 17 percent of congressional seats, 22 percent of state senate seats, and 24 percent of state house seats.

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, and Tiffany Dufu, president of the White House Project, discuss the obstacles to women successfully running for office.

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Comments [2]

Pat
from Michigan

Someone just called in with the suggestion that former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm should consider a run for the presidency. That cannot happen, under Constituional law: She was born in CANADA. Her legal backround, however, might make her a good candidate for a future Supreme Court nomination.